joe645733

iTrader: (3)

ive been reading around in here. and id like to have this done to my car too. and i also have a few pc's laying around the house. and i can use them for a car pc???
my question is how are u transfering all the components from some big *** harddrive to a little one? cuz i know ur not carrying that huge thing around.

or do u mean u have a laptop.

L33TZOR

iTrader: (1)

im using a laptop i was about to sell it, so i decided to run it into the z as the carputer. its a 3000+ amd, with 80gb and xp. it has wifi etc.
one plus with the laptop is everythings there i need, and it has its own battery and can be left on while on short stops to park or whatever.
i use a 400w power inverter for the powered usb hub and the laptop.

three obstacles i am trying to overcome with the laptop.

1. turning on, most mini itx or the likes have a standard power supply which the laptop doesnt so i cant run a momentary switch to someplace in reach. i am thinking of a small tube with a ball squirter type of device to control the bottom by squeezing air (because i dont want to ruin the laptop by disassembling the control and buttons.) (i guess a turkey baster with a baloon thru a tube, i duno anyone can help with a suggestion let me know please)

2. wifi button , when the laptop turns on, this model has a button you need to press, vs dells or other brands have a rocker or slide switch for either always on or always off,. (again i can disassemble it to permanently enable it but dont want to even though i am more than qualified to do so as i have worked on laptops and computers/servers professsionally the last 9 years)

although i plan to bluetooth my cellphone to jump online, i know the laptops built in wifi card is pretty sensitive enough to stop at starbucks (i have hotspots) or freebie hotspot places for faster net results.

3. i have gta vice city pc game loaded and the touch screen is "external" to the laptop so when i load it up, it blacks out on the touch screen (i got a 8.4 in instead cuz it seems easier to read), so i need to use the function f5, and the wireless keyboard doesnt seem to do the same control set to get the external only going. (been to lazy to see if the averatech people made their bios friendly enough for me to bypass the onboard screen altogether)

L33TZOR

iTrader: (1)

i decided to ditch the laptop and use a healthy SATA driven 2.8GHz HT P4 system. They design these on mini ITX form factors for space savings.
heres the rundown, im sure i missed details, but can answer any questions.
I also made a more in depth post at az350z.com.

i was wanting to put some pics here but the site expired, im glad its back.
here are some pics from my install.

I decided to ditch the laptop because of some issues i came across. So, i decided to use an Ice Cube (Mini ITX form factor).


testing the waters before i installed it,


trying out free car computer inclined software. Yes, the greatest things in life are for free.



and how it looks in the car...

JonathanAboona

iTrader: (5)

I have a Shuttle XPC with a Xenarc TSV and a DC-DC converter that has a pulse start option or a ignition switch option. I first tried hooking up the signal to my 12 volt cell charger outlet but I figured out that if you flip the car on the 12 volts goes on when the key is in accessory, then shuts off while the car starts then turns back on when the motor finally turns over so its not working properly. I've had the screen, power and computer installed for 2 months now but cant figure out how to boot the thing up when I turn the key. I dont want a button to push everytime i get in and out of the car. Any ideas ??

JonathanAboona

iTrader: (5)

johnny3597

Nice mod....I faced a similiar problem with my 7". I wanted it behind the door. I just cut the bracket out in the bottom and but a fiber glass mount. My door still works fine and i got the screen wrapped in black vinyl so i blends great. I can post pics if you like

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

Looks nice!

350zx6r

Im trying to get a similar setup but I need to know if the "carputer" would work with the AVIC-Z1 unit. anyone? please...

azula

iTrader: (12)

looks really good man, clean install too.

Jeff06

I am not sure if you talked about this, but what did you use for the FM adapter? I see one on mp3car.com but I am wondering how well they work. It looks great so far.

JCZ33

Way too cool!

psytropic

very sexy, I'm thinking of doing this as well since Im a huge tech geek.

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

Ok sorry for the delay, hopefully you subscribed.

The way I did the audio is quite primitive but good quality. The soundcard on the computer outputs a 1/4" and converts into RCA which goes directly into a 4 channel amp. So I basically eliminated the HU and placed full audio control into the computer. With a good enough sound card and adapter, you can get just as good, and actually better than even the best head units. Example, surround sound audio cards are not very expensive and often have digital outputs. So in some cases you can run 7 or even more channels (front center, front surround, rear surround, rear center, and sub), just as you can run in the house. All you have to do is add the proper amps to correspond with the outputs on the sound card. For me, I want to eventually run a total of 3 amps (not the first time for me). I have the 4 channel for the front and rear "surrounds", and the sub amp for the subs, but i will add one of my really small old amps and run a small car audio center channel. This will give me a true digital suround sound system in the car for a fraction of what it would cost to do it with traditional car audio equipment.

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

Laptops can work really great, especially cause they are small, can be easily removed, and have a battery system. Down sides that I can think of is that they are hard to modify for full car use. The issue is turning the thing on and off. Unless you want to do some modifications to the internal power system, it is all but impossible to conveniently turn the thing on and off. Someone else mentioned a mechanical way to do it, and that would be really cool, but I think it is hard to make those work consistently. If it has been done, I would like to know about it.

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

Check out the pics. I basically made a new computer case for my normal desktop components. All the pieces fit extremely nicely in the rear glove box. And yes you can make a carputer with those old computers. If you can get them to work and are crafty, you can adapt one to the car. Check out www.mp3car.com. There is just about everything you need to know to do this on that site.

Notion

Great install, looks nice and clean.

Have you checked out the Digital FX skin for Roadrunner? I also used to use the e36 skin on my rig but the DFX skin brings a bunch of nic extra functionality to the system - an amazing piece of work.

I like your plexiglass install on the hidey-hole, kinda fun for showing it all off - what power supply do you use? I'm using the Opus 250w these days but it's having a little trouble with reboot on crank - only thing I can figure is that the Z is pulling too hard against the battery and even the Opus cant handle the discharge.

Love the lilliput 7" - best little screen you can get for the money.

I'm also having trouble with my FM card. I installed one with a Phillips 7130 chipset and I'm having a hell of a time getting the damn thing to work at all.

Notion

J rad

iTrader: (18)

im jealous